Private higher education in Portugal will offer 29,315 places in the 2026/2027 academic year, 1,417 more than in the previous year, representing a 5% increase compared to 2025. This increase comes at a time of high demand for higher education courses, especially in the areas of Education, Health and Technology.
Among the courses with the largest increase in places is the Bachelor’s Degree in Basic Education, which qualifies students for professional master’s degrees in pre-school and primary school teaching. Demand for this area has been growing, partly due to the need for generational renewal of the teaching staff in Portugal, marked by a significant number of teachers approaching retirement age.
The increase in places was distributed across the different admission schemes, including the general scheme, admission for those over 23 years of age, holders of professional courses, holders of a technological specialisation diploma (DET) and holders of a higher professional technical diploma (TeSP). This diversification of entry routes reflects a trend towards broadening the student profile, with a greater presence of adult candidates and non-traditional educational backgrounds.
The private higher education system in Portugal comprises universities and polytechnic institutes, represented by the Portuguese Association of Private Higher Education (APESP), which has advocated a complementary role to the public sector, especially in areas with high demand or where there are limitations on places in state institutions.
The increase now announced reinforces the weight of the private sector in the national landscape, which already represents a significant share of the total number of higher education students in Portugal. With the new academic year approaching, it is expected that the dynamics of applications will confirm the growth trend, in a scenario where access to higher education continues to be seen as crucial for the qualification of the working population and for the country’s competitiveness.
